Posted Jun. 25, 2012, 1:54 am

Brenton Garen / Editor-in-Chief

The Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce installed Ellis O’Connor as its 87th chairman of its board on June 14 in front of a full ballroom of attendees at The Chamber’s installation dinner at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel and Bungalows.

This event, which focused on “Catering to Business,” also installed the new Board of Directors as well as honor the outgoing 2011-2012 Board of Directors and chairman Ron Davis.

The event also recognized a handful of the City’s business leaders with various awards.

O’Connor said he pledged to devote as much time as necessary to serve the business community and to grow The Chamber’s membership by creating value and catering to the needs of the business community.

“As chairman, my role will be to ensure that we continue to advocate smartly for business with effective, timely, and accurate communication on the key issues affecting commerce and by working closely with City management and staff to address concerns of business owners and operators,” O’Connor said.

“It’s a very exciting time to be living and working in Santa Monica. Santa Monica has always been an innovator, and other cities and destinations look to us to see where they should go next.”

Chamber President Laurel Rosen spoke about its mission to provide

an environment where businesses can flourish.

“When businesses succeed, we all benefit,” Rosen said.

“We want to thank you, our businesses for what you do on a daily basis to provide exceptional business service, which builds a stronger community.”